In a recent poll commissioned by the American Petroleum Institute, Harris Interactive found that 77% of Americans are “concerned” about putting ethanol - particularly E15 - in their vehicles. It’s sad to hear that, considering vehicles made beginning in 2001 have been approved by the EPA for E15 ethanol blends. These blends provide important benefits to American consumers and our environment. But here’s the thing about the API poll: outside the world of skewed polling, you will not find that 77% of Americans are concerned about putting E15 in their vehicles.

America has always been the vanguard for innovation in the automobile industry, particularly in regards to the development of high octane alcohol fuels. Unfortunately, the oil industry has been successfully able to suppress the wider implementation of many of these high octane blends including ethanol dating back to the 19th century.

ACORE’s Transportation Initiative launched in early 2012 to position our organization at the intersection of the renewable energy industry and the transportation sector. ACORE recognized this as an important opportunity for a number of reasons:

October 1 -- Congress and the American people have been told a number of stories about the causes of rising prices for Renewable Identification Numbers — the credits oil refiners and importers use to demonstrate compliance with the renewable-fuel standard. What’s really behind this year’s rapid rise in the price of RINs? And will their cost be passed to consumers at the pump? >>View Article

July 15 -- The summer of 2013 has the potential to be the worst drought that New Mexico has ever seen. The Canadian River Watershed in northeastern New Mexico, which provides irrigation water to Arch Hurley Conservancy District farmers, has seen no irrigation water in six out of the last 12 years. Ranchers across the state reduced their herds to 25 percent of their previous size, and sold thousands of acres of land and livestock to just barely pay the bills. >>View Article

June 28 -- U.S. consumers are warming to alternative fuel sources in higher numbers as frustration with the oil industry grows, a renewable energy advocate says. The U.S. Energy Department this week reported average retail gasoline prices for the summer were moving toward an expected seasonal average of $3.53 per gallon. The weekly average price of $3.57 per gallon is 14 cents higher than the same time last year. >>View Article

June 25 -- The Supreme Court blocked the oil and gas industry's challenge to a high-ethanol blend of gasoline Monday, scoring a point for a renewable fuel industry aiming to mix more plant-based materials into the nation's gasoline. >>View Article